Saturday Sights: Old Wine in New Wineskins, Sort of..

[Bubba Dawg]

Last week we had visitors from Florida, a young mother and her 5 year old son. They visited for several days and this afforded s the opportunity to "show them around" a bit. I enjoy playing tour-guide, especially to nice people.

We visited several state parks in our area, went to a nice local restaurant, and basically had a very good time. The highlight was a visit to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We visited the old homestead at the visitors center near Cherokee NC, the Sugarlands vistors center where we saw a nice park video and looked at exhibits, and then toured Cades Cove in the park.

Cades Cove is an old settlement in the mountains, a beautiful valley (called a 'cove') surrounded on all sides by mountains. The old homes and churches and other structures are still present and can be toured. The mountain scenery there is wonderful.

So, what's the 'old wine' I'm referring to? Basically, my wife and i have seen these sights many times. I love these places so I don't really get tired of seeing them, but when you are sharing these special sights with a person who has never before seen them, you also experience an excitement and a sense of newness in seeing them again. This is especially true if you get to share a special place with a child.

A child's sense of wonder and enthusiasm has a tendency to rub off on you.

And he got to see wild turkeys, deer AND A BEAR!!!

TOTD: You have visitors and are playing tour-guide. What do you take them to see in your vicinity?

[Cold Warrior]

Good morning, Bubba. Raining here in the Insurance Capital. Will be driving up to Western MA today to evaluate a dental practice for potential partnership for my girlfriend.

TOTD: Having lived in DC, NYC, London, and the south of France, I've spent a good deal of my life playing tour guide to visiting friends, relatives, and colleagues. Here in the more modest Hartford (commonly refered to as "the sticks") there's less to see and do in the immediate area, but we do have proximity to a number of New England sites. Some of my girlfriend's relatives will be visiting late next month from Romania and we plan on taking them to (1) Boston Common, (2) Plyouth Rock, (3) Portsmouth, NH (4) Newport, RI, and, of course, (5) the City.

It's unfortunate they're not coming a month later since one of the great sights in New England is that of the leaves turning in CT, MA, and NH.

Main Street in Portsmouth, NH


Mayflower II in Plymouth, MA

[megimoo]

Last week we had visitors from Florida, a young mother and her 5 year old son. They visited for several days and this afforded s the opportunity to "show them around" a bit. I enjoy playing tour-guide, especially to nice people.

We visited several state parks in our area, went to a nice local restaurant, and basically had a very good time. The highlight was a visit to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We visited the old homestead at the visitors center near Cherokee NC, the Sugarlands vistors center where we saw a nice park video and looked at exhibits, and then toured Cades Cove in the park.

Cades Cove is an old settlement in the mountains, a beautiful valley (called a 'cove') surrounded on all sides by mountains. The old homes and churches and other structures are still present and can be toured. The mountain scenery there is wonderful.

So, what's the 'old wine' I'm referring to? Basically, my wife and i have seen these sights many times. I love these places so I don't really get tired of seeing them, but when you are sharing these special sights with a person who has never before seen them, you also experience an excitement and a sense of newness in seeing them again. This is especially true if you get to share a special place with a child.

A child's sense of wonder and enthusiasm has a tendency to rub off on you.

And he got to see wild turkeys, deer AND A BEAR!!!

TOTD: You have visitors and are playing tour-guide. What do you take them to see in your vicinity?

Good morning All,Cool starting to drizzle here but not bad .Buba does the US park service still have a toll road going over North Mountain(Great Smokies )through one of our National Parks ?That really 'Rots my Sox". Having to pay a Toll to go through a park we fund with our taxes is a bit much for me.

C.W. don't forget The Frigate USS Constitution and the Yellow brick road to the Granary Cemetery for a tour of the famous dead like Mother Goose and a few well known colonials .Further on the road is the North End for great Italian food .

The Old North Church is right up the road If your future in-laws(?) are into Early American history.

There is Kings Chapel off of Washington Street and right behind it is where Boston Latin stood in John Hancock and John Adams days and where they learned their crafts. Paul Revers house and The New England Oysters house and near.

If you or they are not saturated with touring try The old Church in Quincy Mass town center originally called Adams Church because he paid to have it built .The only church in America where two American President's John and John Quincy Adams, and their wives lay in Eternal rest in the basement !

A short haul from Boston to Quincy on the never ending tour is the original John and John Quincy Adams homesteads rebuilt several times but with the same local material.It was moved to that site to make room for some government project .

[LibraryLady]

Our 4th of July swim was rained out but we had so many leftovers that we are doing an instant replay today!

Like CW, I lived in a lot of places that invited visitors wanting to "see the sights".
In Beirut we went to Baalbeck, up to the mountains, made numerous trips to Damascus and of course took everyone to the gold souks where you could buy beautiful jewelry for next to nothing.
In Venezuela, the Guajira Indians provided fabulous fabrics and crafts - we went to their markets a hundred times.
Germany - to the Roemer in Frankfurt and the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuernberg.

D.C. - what can I say? we could have hosted guests every weekend and still not seen everything.

Pretty much all of the states we lived in had local interests and special places to eat.

Now I am in a boring town of 2000. There is honestly NOTHING to see here! We have a Sonic, a cemetery whose most interesting person decided not to be buried there after all (he has a HUGE monument though!) and the Parish seat has an historical court house.

I am so glad I saw lots when I was growing up!!!

[Gingersnap]

It will be sunny and hot out here today. We had a great time yesterday and since 911 wasn't called even one time, I assume all our guests did too!

One of our friends brought his guitar (he plays professionally) and my BIL brought his banjo so we were treated to a lot of excellent bluegrass and Old Time music. The Frog Eyes were delish.

TOTD: It would depend on the time of year and the interests and skill levels of the guests. In the summer we have Rocky Mountain National Park and a lot of blue ribbon fishing. In the fall we have a lot of trails, elk, and generalized wildlife. In the winter we have all the skiing, of course. Colorado is an outdoorsy kind of place.

For inside entertainment we usually take people to hear live bluegrass music at one of several places or maybe go to the state fair, Frontier Days, or the Stock Show.

Big time history out here usually involves a stone monument and a large patch of otherwise unremarkable land. In Denver itself there are all the usual urban entertainments and sporting events.

[CLibertarian]

Last week we had visitors from Florida, a young mother and her 5 year old son. They visited for several days and this afforded s the opportunity to "show them around" a bit. I enjoy playing tour-guide, especially to nice people.

We visited several state parks in our area, went to a nice local restaurant, and basically had a very good time. The highlight was a visit to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We visited the old homestead at the visitors center near Cherokee NC, the Sugarlands vistors center where we saw a nice park video and looked at exhibits, and then toured Cades Cove in the park.

Cades Cove is an old settlement in the mountains, a beautiful valley (called a 'cove') surrounded on all sides by mountains. The old homes and churches and other structures are still present and can be toured. The mountain scenery there is wonderful.

So, what's the 'old wine' I'm referring to? Basically, my wife and i have seen these sights many times. I love these places so I don't really get tired of seeing them, but when you are sharing these special sights with a person who has never before seen them, you also experience an excitement and a sense of newness in seeing them again. This is especially true if you get to share a special place with a child.

A child's sense of wonder and enthusiasm has a tendency to rub off on you.

And he got to see wild turkeys, deer AND A BEAR!!!

TOTD: You have visitors and are playing tour-guide. What do you take them to see in your vicinity?

My Dad, God rest his soul, said something similar. He had grown up in the Vincenes, IN area. It's a small town and nothing fancy by any means. However, at one time, it was the capitol of the whole Northwest Territory (Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan) after the French and Indian War. Therefore, there was some Pre-Revolutionary War history to be seen. He decided one day just to take all 3 of us kids on the Historical Tour that was operated by the local university. Much of the main historical points were known by us because, they taught us Indiana History in grade school. It is still a day that we, as a family, remember as a good one. I plan to take my wife and son on it--if it's still in operation. It took the better part of one day.

[megimoo]

It will be sunny and hot out here today. We had a great time yesterday and since 911 wasn't called even one time, I assume all our guests did too!

One of our friends brought his guitar (he plays professionally) and my BIL brought his banjo so we were treated to a lot of excellent bluegrass and Old Time music. The Frog Eyes were delish.

TOTD: It would depend on the time of year and the interests and skill levels of the guests. In the summer we have Rocky Mountain National Park and a lot of blue ribbon fishing. In the fall we have a lot of trails, elk, and generalized wildlife. In the winter we have all the skiing, of course. Colorado is an outdoorsy kind of place.

For inside entertainment we usually take people to hear live bluegrass music at one of several places or maybe go to the state fair, Frontier Days, or the Stock Show.

Big time history out here usually involves a stone monument and a large patch of otherwise unremarkable land. In Denver itself there are all the usual urban entertainments and sporting events.

Did you post the receipe for The Frog Eyes and just what are they,please ?

[Bubba Dawg]

Good morning All,Cool starting to drizzle here but not bad .Buba does the US park service still have a toll road going over North Mountain(Great Smokies )through one of our National Parks ?That really 'Rots my Sox". Having to pay a Toll to go through a park we fund with our taxes is a bit much for me.

C.W. don't forget The Frigate USS Constitution and the Yellow brick road to the Granary Cemetery for a tour of the famous dead like Mother Goose and a few well known colonials .Further on the road is the North End for great Italian food .

The Old North Church is right up the road If your future in-laws(?) are into Early American history.

There is Kings Chapel off of Washington Street and right behind it is where Boston Latin stood in John Hancock and John Adams days and where they learned their crafts. Paul Revers house and The New England Oysters house and near.

If you or they are not saturated with touring try The old Church in Quincy Mass town center originally called Adams Church because he paid to have it built .The only church in America where two American President's John and John Quincy Adams, and their wives lay in Eternal rest in the basement !

A short haul from Boston to Quincy on the never ending tour is the original John and John Quincy Adams homesteads rebuilt several times but with the same local material.It was moved to that site to make room for some government project .

Sounds like some interesting places I'd love to see.

I don't know of a toll road but I'll check it out. One of the great things about the Smokies is that there is no admission to the park and I like that a lot. It's important.

I don't know North Mountain but I'll do a little research and get back to you.

[Bubba Dawg]

Did you post the receipe for The Frog Eyes and just what are they,please ?

I'd like to know about the Frog Eyes too. I don't think I'd like to look at my food and have it look back at me. :eek:

[Bubba Dawg]

Good morning, Bubba. Raining here in the Insurance Capital. Will be driving up to Western MA today to evaluate a dental practice for potential partnership for my girlfriend.

TOTD: Having lived in DC, NYC, London, and the south of France, I've spent a good deal of my life playing tour guide to visiting friends, relatives, and colleagues. Here in the more modest Hartford (commonly refered to as "the sticks") there's less to see and do in the immediate area, but we do have proximity to a number of New England sites. Some of my girlfriend's relatives will be visiting late next month from Romania and we plan on taking them to (1) Boston Common, (2) Plyouth Rock, (3) Portsmouth, NH (4) Newport, RI, and, of course, (5) the City.

It's unfortunate they're not coming a month later since one of the great sights in New England is that of the leaves turning in CT, MA, and NH.

Main Street in Portsmouth, NH


Mayflower II in Plymouth, MA

There's a GAP store in that old building in Portsmouth. I love it.

I'd like to see the Mayflower replica. Looks like a beautiful area you live in with lot's of history I'm sure. I'll add it to my list of places to see.